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Friday, November 26, 2010

As it turns out, I won't be working this Black Friday. Instead, I'll be trailing around after my sister-in-law-to-be while she picks up her wedding dress and goes shopping for my bridesmaid dress. There are quite a few romances, usually contemporaries, about a bride/sister of the bride/brother of the groom/bride's best friend/wedding planner/yadda yadda. However, I don't think I've ever read anything about the sister of the groom. The older sister, to boot. You occupy an odd place in the wedding hierarchy. You're classified as family, but since you're not really family yet and you're only in the party because she's marrying your little brother, you rank below her mother(s), her sister(s) and her best friend(s). Yes, my Black Friday will be spent in wedding shops.

I don't feel too guilty for abandoning my store because our foot traffic is usually spread out over the day. We rarely offer doorbusters or any sales that can compete with the other big box stores. Also, I've noticed that since the economy crashed, the sales usually get set-up on Wednesday. Then it's just a matter of swapping out the signage before opening on Friday. This makes our lives a little simpler and doesn't require us to show up at an ungodly hour on Friday morning.

I've really only done Black Friday shopping as an adult once. It was like a novelty. It was an interesting experience and, if I ever need to buy toys or large electronics, I'll probably do it again. For the time being, however, I shop on the Internet. What most people don't realize is that the same brands are on sale across the board. The manufacturers are the ones who determine what goes on sale and the range of discounts allowed. If you frequent a site like BlackFriday.info, you can see the pattern. For example, the Canon A3100 digital camera is on sale at Toys 'R Us, Amazon, Office Max and Best Buy for $99. I can buy it online for the same price as I would find it in the store without changing out of my comfty pajamas. You just have to know what you want and do a little research. A spin through Google Shopping shows the likely tax and shipping costs, plus any other retailers you may have missed.

Books are an exception to this. A comparison of Bookstore's and Competitor Bookstore's Black Friday sales shows they have differing discounted books and coupons. E-books rarely qualify for Black Friday or Cyber Monday deals.

I'll leave you with a couple of my favorite wedding/marriage related romances.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

I've re-written this entry about four times. Perhaps it's my setting (my desk in the library), but the first paragraph keeps coming out like an introduction to an academic paper. So I'm going to skip it entirely and dive right into Twitter Thursday. There's no twitter account set up for the blog yet, but I do have a personal account where I follow a couple of book people. My intention is to feature one twitter account that you should be following.

I am going to start with one of my top favorite authors: @NaliniSingh. I vividly remember how my love affair with her books began. I remembered reading a review of it in Romantic Times (a magazine I found at my first Bookstore & subscribed to three months) and while I wasn't wowed by the description, I added it to my TBR journal. A week or two later, I got an excerpt of Slave to Sensation via Ms. Singh's publicist in the mail. Since I recognized the title, I read it right away. Then I proceeded to write a gushing email to the publicist and haunted the stockroom until the book came in.

Ever since then, I was hooked. I was fortunate enough to receive ARCs for Visions of Heat and Caressed by Ice. I wrote up a review of Visions of Heat that was featured on Bookstore's internal romance newsletter. One of the final lines read: "This is definitely her breakout series and Ms. Singh will soon be one of the romance heavy-hitters." As we know now, Ms. Singh has gone to be a New York Times bestselling author and an auto-buy for paranormal readers.

I was fortunate enough to meet Ms. Singh at RomCon2010. She actually is the main reason I went since she is based in New Zealand and rarely comes to the States for signings. We had a few email exchanges prior to this, back in 2006 & 2007, and not much contact since then until I begged (like full on groveling) for an ARC of Bonds of Justice. I expected to be one of the crowd, but she knew who I was. She remembered my reviews. I was speechless. She is incredibly nice and very warm towards her fans (I was by no means the only fangirl there).

Her Twitter account is worth following for the following reasons:

She rarely tweets unless it's book-related so your feed will not be cluttered with extraneous information. Ms. Singh has a blog of her own where she talks about her work in general and occasionally shares tidbits from her personal life. She is also a weekly poster at The Odd Shots, where she will sometimes make book recommendations or post some of her photographs (which are gorgeous).

When they release an excerpt or cover blurb, Ms. Singh tweets a link, thereby circumventing the need to continually check her website and allowing for instant gratification. She also sends out reminders about publication dates.

Ms. Singh checks her feed on a daily basis. She may answer fan questions or send out smiley faces. I skimmed her feed while writing this entry and now I know that Max's brother, River, will be a presence in Kiss of Snow.

So, when you're finished with your turkey dinners (Happy Thanksgiving, fellow Americans!), log into Twitter and follow @NaliniSingh. I personally will probably be in bed, hiding under the covers, because tomorrow is Black Friday. It's bad enough working Black Friday, but considering Hanukkah will only be a week away? I'd rather be home reading!

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

I'm not great with book reviews. Spoilers vs no spoilers, Positive vs negative, etc, I can't be bothered. I also know that taste is subjective. So what I think is fantastically awesome may not appeal to some folks. Other people rave about authors and I'm like "Meh." However, every now and then, I come across a book that makes me go, "Holy shit, everyone needs to read this now." I start to think of ways to sell it to non-romance readers. I debate whether or not I'm willing to lend my copy out long enough for someone else to read. There's a lot of flailing and tweeting. In any case, now that I've started this blog, I've decided to give out the Holy Shit award.

The first Holy Shit award goes to Dragon Bound by Thea Harrison. There's no summary up yet on Amazon and Ms. Harrison's website is practically non-existent, so I shall do my best:

Humanity and the Elder Races live in uneasy harmony in this world. Pia Giovanni, a member of the weyrkind race, has been blackmailed by an ex-boyfriend to steal from Dragos Cuelebre's hoarde. Reluctantly carrying out the task, she immediately goes on the run after turning over what she filched. While Dragos has never outed himself, it is an open secret among the weyrkind that he is a dragon shifter. Dragos is enraged by the idea that someone has stolen from him, but he is intrigued by Pia's lingering scent. He immediately sets off in pursuit. When Dragos runs Pia to ground, sparks immediately fly.

Dragos is inclined to forgive her for her theft, but there are bigger problems to face: an Elven boycott, marauding Goblins, and a scheming Faerie king. Not to mention he's a carnivore, she's a vegan; he's autocratic and she doesn't take crap from anyone; he's a dragon and she refuses to tell him her parentage. Through it all, Dragos is simply certain that Pia now belongs to him and will not give her up, regardless of her wishes. Pia thinks he's a borderline stalker, but she's also having a hard time deciding how she feels since there's one near death experience after another.

Opposites attract and these two are no exception. However, they will both need to compromise if they are to have a real relationship that is worth all the gold in Dragos's hoard.

Oh, Lordy, see what I mean? I stink at this. It's better than I'm making it sound. Look, bottom line is that Pia is a fabulous heroine. She and Drago take turns saving each other. She calls him constantly on his shit and makes smart & sensible decisions. She thinks things through and doesn't make assumptions. Drago is marvelously alpha who is baffled and perplexed by how he feels by Pia. What makes him fabulously unique is that he asks what he did wrong and learns from his mistakes. He's right up there with Curran from Ilona Andrews' Kate Daniels books.

I raced through this book and I immediately wanted to read it again. By the time I was three quarters done, I mourned the fact that getting ARCs is wonderful, but that also means I have to wait longer for the next book. The writing is so lyrical. This is a description from the first time Dragos shows up:

"He had been born along with the solar system. Give or take.

He remembered a transcendent light and an immense wind. Modern science called it a solar wind. He recalled a sensation of endless flight, an eternal basking in light and magic so piercing and young and pure it rang like the trumpeting of thousands of angels."

I just tried to find a non-spoilery quote that illustrates the thread of humor that runs through the book and lost about twenty minutes as I re-read different sections. Never mind that I just finished it like an hour ago.

If I had to draw comparisons to previously published books, I'd have to draw from a couple of different sources. It has a similar world to Laura Gilman's Retrievers' series. As previously mentioned, Dragos is like Curran. Pia kinda reminds me of Amanda Quick's bluestocking heroines (especially Lavina Lake) with their ability to handle blustering aristocrats and take care of themselves. Toss in a dash of Wen Spencer's Tinker and garnish with Kresley Cole's Immortals After Dark series or Larissa Ione's Demonica series.

The book will be released in MM form & for $7.99 on 05/03/11. It can already be pre-ordered at your choice of sellers: Borders, B&N, or Amazon.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Mondays are always a busy day for me. I have my regular full-time job (ILL & Periodicals in an academic library) and then two hours later, I have my part-time job at the Bookstore. Savvy readers probably know that new titles are usually released on Tuesday. It sounds easy, right? Open box, put out the new books, also referred to as laydowns. Perhaps in theory, but, in reality, it's actually a rather time consuming process involving a multitude of staff members. I will spare you the nitty-gritty details of everything that happens and all the things that can/will/often do go wrong. However, after eight years of doing Merch and handling laydowns, there are some things I know that you probably should.

First off, not everything has an enforced street date. I know for a fact that some authors will be all 'My book's coming out on this date' and I'm like 'I just shelved it two hours ago.' Unless this is a Big Name, the book probably doesn't have an enforced street date and you may be able to find it in a store before you can buy it online. The best way to check is call us and ask us over the phone. If we tell you, 'Oh, we should have it on 11/22,' it's an enforced street date. If we're vague, 'Looks like it'll be released sometime this month, call back next week,' it doesn't have a street date and the 'call back' may mean it's in transit or buried in a pallet. However, don't call with a list of twenty titles. That's just gonna piss us off.

Secondly, Bookstore offers insane pre-order pricing online. We do not have the same pricing in store. However, if you order it online, you're not gonna get it that day unless you pay for expedited shipping. If you really, really want it right now, buy it in a bricks & mortar store. The best way to get your hands on a laydown title is the following:

1. Call and find out when the laydown date is. Unless it's a James Patterson book, it'll usually come out on a Tuesday. Patterson has a monopoly on Mondays except when Oprah picks a new bookclub title. Those are usually Monday releases as well. Also, there are odd titles here and there that come out on Thursdays. For the most part, you're looking at a Tuesday date.

2. Write down the laydown date. The night before that date, call to double-check it will, in fact, be available that day. The following has been known to happen: Warehouse screws up or there is a weather disaster and half of the laydowns do not arrive until Monday afternoon, the IPT (inventory processing team) guys give each other the flu and call out half the week, or the publisher decides to hold back the book. Ask if a copy can be put aside for you tonight or if you should call back tomorrow. Generally, we will be happy to stick a hold slip in the book if you are nice.

3. Show up on the laydown date prior to closing and buy the book. If the title is really hot and we didn't get enough, you're not going to get any extra time. As soon as we close, that book is coming off the hold shelf and going on the floor.

With regards to in store pricing, there are usually no coupons valid in Bookstore for Tuesdays. I believe the reasoning is that if you want a book badly enough enough to pick it up on the day it comes out, you want it badly enough to pay full price. So don't call us on Monday night and tell us that you have a coupon that's expiring so you need to buy it that night. We can't sell it to you. You can whine and beg all you want, but you are not worth getting fired over. However, at Bookstore, Big Name hardcovers are usually discounted at least 30% off on Laydown day, more if you're a member of our discount program. Paperbacks are never discounted unless they're getting added to a pre-existing sale. Keep in mind, though, that you can't count on that Big Name hardcover still being 30% off next week. Unless it's a bestseller, titles are usually only up in the front of the store for about two weeks. Once it gets put in section, it will rarely, if ever, go on sale.

Now that Harry Potter and Twilight have ended, midnight openings are a rare thing. I personally enjoyed them because I enjoyed the camaraderie of fellow Harry Potter fans. However, they are a scheduling nightmare, never cost-effective, and usually involve super-human efforts in event planning. In addition, we are usually not allowed to prep midnight release books until that day. A few weeks before Order of the Phoenix came out, it was delivered swathed in black plastic with a label of 'Hanukkah books.' In July. The truck driver was kinda insulted that they didn't think he wouldn't figure out what he was delivering across the area. In any case, those boxes sat there for weeks, taking up an enormous amount of space in our stockroom, and the anticipation nearly drove me out of my mind. Anyway, if you haven't seen signage plastered across the store announcing a midnight opening, don't bother asking.

Finally, be kind to your local booksellers on Monday night or Tuesday morning. They will either be staying very late or have been there since very early to get everything set up. This is especially true on Black Friday and 12/26. It's entirely possible they've been there since 5am if not earlier.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

I know what you're thinking. Another book blog? Really? There are a gazillion of them out there on a variety of different genres and topics. What makes this one so special?

Doubt is to be expected, so allow me to introduce myself. My internet handle is Lady Lioness. You may know me from such fandoms as Sailor Moon, Roswell, Wolf Lake, and, recently, the Big Bang Theory. My foray into the Internet began in the early '90s on the very first incarnation of the bulletin boards at the Bronze, in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer fandom. I was the original keeper of the Codex. The Lioness's Den sprang to life shortly after than during my college years. It was a meta-link site. It expanded after 2000 as I added an archive for my fanfiction. After I graduated from college, I kept renewing the domain name, but I no longer maintained any of the sites.

I started work at a chain bookstore nine days after graduating in 2002. I am still employed by the company and it was eight years last May. I started as a bookseller, got promoted to Merchandising Supervisor, and then dropped back down to a part-time bookseller when I got a full-time job working in an academic library. In 2005, when I became a supervisor, I also became a Romance Expert for the chain.

As a Romance Expert, I get advanced reader's copies (ARCs) from various publishers and from NetGalley. I read them and then send my opinions to our Romance buyer in our corporate headquarters. If I really enjoyed it, I would write up reviews to be posted on the website. However, due to recent changes in the legalese with regards to posting reviews on the site, I'm no longer keen on that idea. In addition, I occupy an unique place in the book world, straddling the boundaries between the general public, the retail conglomerates, and the publishing industry.

I am a profligate reader. I don't have the exact number handy at the moment, but I read well over 200 books a year, spanning genres from picture books to science. Obviously, I tend to read more romance than anything else, but any title that looks interesting goes into my TBR journal. However, I have three firm DNWs. I will not read anything involving adultery or cannibalism, and a fiction title must have a happy ending. I have enough drama and angst in my real life.

My goal for the Bookshelf is simple: Update a couple of times a week with book-related posts. Bear with me as I get the details sorted out and perhaps prettify the place a bit. It's rather dusty in here.